Teaching purpose-driven entrepreneurs learn to be the Directors of Marketing for their businesses

Tag Archives: choosing happiness

Hello blog readers! Today, I’m excited to be a Happiness Crusader and joining over 100 women in spreading the message of #ChoosingHappiness to women around the world, inspired by best-selling author Linda Joy. Today is the official release of Linda’s new book, Inspiration for a Woman’s Soul: Choosing Happiness, which features the soul-inspiring stories of 27 amazing women who share their intimate stories of transformation. Choosing Happiness also includes Reflection Questions after each story, which will empower you to integrate the vital lessons of each woman’s journey into your own life.

For a limited time you can get over 40 transformational gifts with your copy of Choosing Happiness. Grab your copy today> http://bit.ly/Happiness_Book

Owning a business is a tough job.

In addition to sharing your gifts, you have to keep your business operating, the marketing wheels turning and your employees fulfilled. If you’re like me, your immediate circle of family and friends are not entrepreneurs, and it’s difficult to share your struggles with them. In fact, entrepreneurship can be downright lonely.

When I started my first business in 2010, I rode on a “I’m-outta-corporate” high that sustained me for a while. My business was doing okay, and the novelty of being an entrepreneur was keeping me content.

However, after two years of running my agency, I knew there was more I needed to do with my gifts. I was put on this earth to teach, and my agency did not offer me a chance to teach and share. So, I started my second business – a private coaching practice – to help deliver my gifts more fully to the world.

Here’s the thing: Opening my second business was the right thing for me to do, but it was not the easiest. People knew me as a social media expert who implemented great solutions, not as a marketing coach with vast knowledge that could serve them.

Six months after I declared my coaching practice “open for business,” I still had not secured one client. Not one.

That’s when the unhappiness set in. And it hit me like a tornado.

I remember lying on my couch in the middle of the night, crying because I felt certain that I should go back to a corporate job so I can earn more money. The sadness enveloped me like a fog.

I would break through my sadness at times when little moments of joy would find their way into my life. But these little joyful moments seemed fleeting: There for just a moment before escaping out of my grasp.

Do you see how I was interpreting happiness and joy? Fleeting, temporary, little.

No wonder I wasn’t happy! I was choosing to focus on the unhappiness, instead of the moments of joy that were indeed much bigger than I was giving them credit for.

I didn’t fall into this realization on my own, and it didn’t hit me like a ton of bricks either. It was a gradual process, seeing the signs from the Universe that were telling me:

Jill, happiness is an inside job. It’s a choice – one you can make, or not.

Here’s the cool part: Once the “you-choose-happiness” realization became part of my mindset, everything changed for my business.

I attracted more of my ideal clients. I tapped into more opportunities to teach. I took more risks. I made my money.

And, most importantly, I was happier. So much happier.

Do I still have days of unhappiness? You bet. However, instead of dwelling there, I now make those unhappy thoughts fleeting, little and temporary. I shift my focus to the happy parts of my life. I thank The Universe for my blessings (for there are many!). I have learned that those unhappy moments are just the “breakdowns before the breakthroughs” – the speed bumps you have to navigate over in your journey – and I thank The Universe for them too.

Entrepreneurs, happiness is a choice. I challenge you to find the happiness and joy in your day, even when things seem bleak. I am living proof that when you choose happiness, your business thrives. Embrace those joyful moments and show gratitude for your abundance. You’ll be so happy that you did.